Political relations
Political relations in the last decade have been characterized by an intensive dialogue and Austria's commitment to Serbia's rapid progress in European integration, which is the policy that Austria advocates in principle towards the Western Balkans.
Serbia and Austria nurture an intensive and continuous political dialogue:
- Federal Chancellor R. Austria S. Kurz visited Rеpublic of Serbia on September 4, 2021, on which occasion President A. Vučić awarded him with the Order of Republic Serbia with a ribbon.
- The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia N. Selaković paid the official visit to Austria from 15 to 17 July 2021.
- Тhe President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia I. Dačić visited Austria on 10 and 11 June 2021.
- The Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia A. Brnabić participated at the Summit Austria – Western Balkans in Vienna on 18 June 2021.
- The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria, Alexander Schallenberg, and the Minister for the EU and the Constitution of Austria, Carolyn Edstadler, visited Serbia on 28 May 2020 and met with the former First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia and Minister of Foreign Affairs I. Dačić and Minister for European Integration Jadranka Joksimović.
- The President of the Austrian National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka, visited Serbia on 12 and 13 November 2018.
- Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria S. Kurz visited Serbia on 5 November 2018.
- The former First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia and Minister of Foreign Affairs I. Dačić, at the invitation of the then Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, visited Austria on 18 – 20 October 2018.
- The President of the Republic of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, visited Serbia on 17 and 18 October 2018, accompanied by a large economic and scientific-cultural delegation.
- The former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria K. Kneissl met in Belgrade with Serbian Prime Minister A. Brnabić in 28 March 2018.
- The President of the Republic of Serbia A. Vučić visited Austria on 2 February 2018.
Economic relations
In 2020, the total volume of foreign trade amounted to 1,065 billion euros, of which domestic exports were 477,8 million euros, and imports 587,9 million euros. In 2019, Austria was Serbia's 13th foreign trade partner in the exchange of goods according to the criterion of Serbian exports and 10th according to the criterion of Serbian imports (trade with Austria accounts for 3% of Serbia's total trade with the world, 3.2% of total exports and 2.8% of total imports).
Economic cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Austria is good. Austria is one of the largest investors in Serbia. According to the data of the Serbian Business Registers Agency, on the territory of the Republic of Serbia there are about 900 active business entities whose majority owners are citizens of Austria, i.e., legal entities registered in Austria, which, together with investments, led to the employment of over 20 thousand workers. A dozen of the most important Austrian banks, insurance companies and telecommunications companies currently operate in Serbia. The company Telekom Austria, whose investment in mobile telephony (VIP Mobil) is the largest greenfield investment from Austria, the oil company OMV, as well as other large companies such as Swarovski, Henkel, Rauch, Knauf, Strabag. In recent years, the investments of Gerlinger and Zumtobel have also been significant.
Bilateral agreements
Consolidation of the contractual situation between the two countries was carried out in 1997. A total of 58 agreements are in force, some of which are:
- Agreement on cooperation in the field of culture, science and education, signed on 14 April 1972.
- Agreement between the FR Yugoslavia and the Government of the Republic of Austria on mutual encouragement and protection of investments, signed on 12 October 2001.
- Agreement between the Federal Government of the FRY and the Austrian Federal Government on Economic, Agricultural, Industrial, Technical and Technological Cooperation, signed on 12 October 2001.
- Agreement between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Austria on social security, signed on 26 January 2012.
- Austria has made a decision on amendments to the Decree on the implementation of the Law on Driving Licenses, which entered into force on 7 February 2017, which abolishes the obligation to take the driving test for Serbian citizens in Austria who have a driver's license of the Republic of Serbia.
Contact information
The Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Vienna: http://www.vienna.mfa.gov.rs/
The Embassy of Austria in Belgrade: https://www.bmeia.gv.at/belgrad.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia – Department for Europe (DE).
tel. 00 381 (0) 11 30 68 326/8274; e-mail: oev@mfa.rs.